Need some new employees- Asheville area

Jody Treadway

Jody Treadway

Croc wearing fool
Moderator
Joined
Mar 20, 2005
Location
Hendersonville, NC
Long story short, we're in need of some additional help at our lumberyard in Fletcher (south Asheville).
Need a Class B delivery driver who can drive a manual transmission. Runs are local and to Charlotte. Realistically 30-35 hours a week to begin. Certainly a likelihood of full time with benefits.
Also need a warehouse/yard/forklift operator. Unload trucks, load trucks, pull orders and make small local deliveries on our non-CDL trucks. Same hours with potential for full time with benefits.
Any questions, PM me.
We're looking to bring someone on immediately.
 
Lol good luck! Been short 4 to 5 head for the past 8 mos. We can't hire them as fast as they quit. One of my restaurant customers closed their dining room and went pickup only because they are so short staffed. Plenty of business, just no help. One place told me he had been stood up for 12 interviews in a row week before last.
 
Jody Treadway said:
Long story short, we're in need of some additional help at our lumberyard in Fletcher (south Asheville).
Need a Class B delivery driver who can drive a manual transmission. Runs are local and to Charlotte. Realistically 30-35 hours a week to begin. Certainly a likelihood of full time with benefits.
Also need a warehouse/yard/forklift operator. Unload trucks, load trucks, pull orders and make small local deliveries on our non-CDL trucks. Same hours with potential for full time with benefits.
Any questions, PM me.
We're looking to bring someone on immediately.
Click to expand...
If you were closer I'd be your huckleberry.That's what they all say,right ???
 
awheelterd said:
Lol good luck! Been short 4 to 5 head for the past 8 mos. We can't hire them as fast as they quit. One of my restaurant customers closed their dining room and went pickup only because they are so short staffed. Plenty of business, just no help. One place told me he had been stood up for 12 interviews in a row week before last.
Click to expand...

Ive literally had people walk out after signing new employee orientation paper work, then promptly get a DOL unemployment notification within a week. Back to back months I’m coming off the 1st and 3rd best revenue months the business has ever had. Sad thing is I could support another 30 heads, and just signed another contract that will require a 1st shift and 2nd shift 7 man crew on each shift. By the end of May I’ll be 45 heads short and probably 23wk lead times, where I’ve been running 10-12wks.
 
UTfball68 said:
Ive literally had people walk out after signing new employee orientation paper work, then promptly get a DOL unemployment notification within a week. Back to back months I’m coming off the 1st and 3rd best revenue months the business has ever had. Sad thing is I could support another 30 heads, and just signed another contract that will require a 1st shift and 2nd shift 7 man crew on each shift. By the end of May I’ll be 45 heads short and probably 23wk lead times, where I’ve been running 10-12wks.
Click to expand...
What do you need people for? Can't you just invest in some automation?
 
orange150 said:
At what point do you just use a staffing agency?
Click to expand...
If you're asking me...
I have been for my secondary driver. But I learned he worked here long enough to lower his child support and returned to a previous job where he gets mega OT driving trucks. We worked the system and won.
I had another candidate lined up for tomorrow. Passed background and drug screen, clean driving record too. Can't drive a manual...
The pool here isn't deep with available Class B drivers. Our yard in Raleigh has been using staffing services for years to fill driver roles. It works well as long as there are drivers available. That's becoming an issue there too.
 
orange150 said:
At what point do you just use a staffing agency?
Click to expand...

When it's that or shut the doors from my experience. Every worker I've had through temp service has ended up walking, save one. And all we needed was folks to sand down rust and spray some paint. Not even hard. Hardest part was climbing the 23 story stairs, as yous worked.
 
orange150 said:
At what point do you just use a staffing agency?
Click to expand...
JSJJ388 said:
When it's that or shut the doors from my experience. Every worker I've had through temp service has ended up walking, save one. And all we needed was folks to sand down rust and spray some paint. Not even hard. Hardest part was climbing the 23 story stairs, as yous worked.
Click to expand...
Staffing services are a joke.When Tonya worked for JD they had four services trying to keep them w seasonal workers and they couldnt get enuf qualified people (pass a drug screen and bg check) to fill half the open positions.A large percentage of the ones who did get hired wouldnt work,had absenteeism problems or quit.It was so bad they would rehire people they had fired for laying out.The last month she was there she trained a new person every day and when she left the only one still there was the one she trained the day before.
 
orange150 said:
At what point do you just use a staffing agency?
Click to expand...
My place of employment has done both. The results both stink.
We can't keep folks. Pay is very decent with full benefits. Everyone comes in is a know it all expert who can't shut up long enough to learn or is inexplicably unknowledgeable about all things. Its embarrassing how many can't count or do basic math. A tape measure or learning a few number sequences absolutely blows their mind.
Funniest crap I witness on the daily is forklift operators who can't operate. Its "THE" job, yet you tear up or crash anything you touch. So short staffed they shrug and keep going when we explain the latest torn up rail, rack, or product.
Blows my mind.
 
jeepinmatt said:
What do you need people for? Can't you just invest in some automation?
Click to expand...

The 7 man crews I need have already been automated with 3 new work cells...2 heads each and a floater. 1 cell does what used to take 10 heads. The other 30 heads are stuffing/folding/applying final packaging/packing boxes. And yes I can automate with a self contained work cell that will need 3 people to operate...but current quotes are about $500k. The caveat there is, it’s a lot of dexterous movements, so the equipment is actually slower than the humans...and I’d need 1.5-1.75 automated cells to keep up with every 10 humans. The IRR and ROI aren’t really there, so it would only be a move to open capacity.

orange150 said:
At what point do you just use a staffing agency?
Click to expand...

I use 3, with the intent to hire when the temp hits their conversion hours (480-540hrs). I have 50+ temps on the roster daily. Month over month, there’s 90+% turnover ratio, and over the last year, I only convert 1-3 temps every quarter. Staffing agencies just look at me, shrug and say annualized .gov handouts mean people can sit on their couch for a $45-50k rate. Prior to 2020, I was converting 70% of the temps to direct hires.
 
UTfball68 said:
The 7 man crews I need have already been automated with 3 new work cells...2 heads each and a floater. 1 cell does what used to take 10 heads. The other 30 heads are stuffing/folding/applying final packaging/packing boxes. And yes I can automate with a self contained work cell that will need 3 people to operate...but current quotes are about $500k. The caveat there is, it’s a lot of dexterous movements, so the equipment is actually slower than the humans...and I’d need 1.5-1.75 automated cells to keep up with every 10 humans. The IRR and ROI aren’t really there, so it would only be a move to open capacity.



I use 3, with the intent to hire when the temp hits their conversion hours (480-540hrs). I have 50+ temps on the roster daily. Month over month, there’s 90+% turnover ratio, and over the last year, I only convert 1-3 temps every quarter. Staffing agencies just look at me, shrug and say annualized .gov handouts mean people can sit on their couch for a $45-50k rate. Prior to 2020, I was converting 70% of the temps to direct hires.
Click to expand...
Same here.
Why work for $45k when you can draw it sitting on your ass and maybe work under the table too?
 
WARRIORWELDING said:
My place of employment has done both. The results both stink.
We can't keep folks. Pay is very decent with full benefits. Everyone comes in is a know it all expert who can't shut up long enough to learn or is inexplicably unknowledgeable about all things. Its embarrassing how many can't count or do basic math. A tape measure or learning a few number sequences absolutely blows their mind.
Funniest crap I witness on the daily is forklift operators who can't operate. Its "THE" job, yet you tear up or crash anything you touch. So short staffed they shrug and keep going when we explain the latest torn up rail, rack, or product.
Blows my mind.
Click to expand...
The last "real" job I worked you had to know how to read a tape measure down to a 1/16 AND know how to do fractions.Super high turn over rate.I stuck it out for two years.
 
1-tonmudder said:
Staffing services are a joke.When Tonya worked for JD they had four services trying to keep them w seasonal workers and they couldnt get enuf qualified people (pass a drug screen and bg check) to fill half the open positions.A large percentage of the ones who did get hired wouldnt work,had absenteeism problems or quit.It was so bad they would rehire people they had fired for laying out.The last month she was there she trained a new person every day and when she left the only one still there was the one she trained the day before.
Click to expand...
Sanderson farms in kinston (chicken plant) has so much trouble hiring that they have a no strings attached policy for rehires. Meaning, after 1 year, you can be rehired, no matter the reason for being let go the previous time. By the numbers, since they opened that plant, they have theoretically hired everyone in the city of Kinston twice..
 
I too am worried soon about this "hiring" process since very soon I'm going to need to hire a full time mechanic who knows 05+ cars and diagnostics. I've already picked up a commercial auto service account from a local used car guy down the road and I'm not even open yet lol but I'm still so behind on the fab work so this is going to be interesting for sure. Even offering $35p/h I'm not sure that will be enough
 
1-tonmudder said:
The last "real" job I worked you had to know how to read a tape measure down to a 1/16 AND know how to do fractions.Super high turn over rate.I stuck it out for two years.
Click to expand...
Reading this, I almost laughed out loud. The thought that there are people in the world that can't read a tape measure is insane. But of course we see it all the time. Students out of welding school and even some fresh out of college get jobs where I work and usually don't last long because of the lack of skills that seem so elementary we forget to ask about them.
 
XJsavage said:
Reading this, I almost laughed out loud. The thought that there are people in the world that can't read a tape measure is insane. But of course we see it all the time. Students out of welding school and even some fresh out of college get jobs where I work and usually don't last long because of the lack of skills that seem so elementary we forget to ask about them.
Click to expand...
Tell the boss to have some random shapes of material and a tape measure included in the interview process. Make it the first step in the interview and if they can measure correctly then proceed with the interview and if not the interview is over.
 
At 17 I was the welder for a company with clients like Monsanto,AirProdicts,Frit car,Naval Air Station and so on. I did all the welding. Primarily expansion joints and precise gaskets down to 1/64". I then went into construction occasionally switching to odd jobs like bartending, backhoe operator, custom fab shops... I eventually specialized in aluminum carports,patio covers,sunrooms,steel buildings...
Now I have retired from all that and make a living flipping everything from real estate to cars. My point is they aren't making kids like you or I any more.
It seems like the main problem with people these days is they have no initiative and no skills. Young people think employers are greedy capitalist. They don't look up to you or aspire to be you. They only wish to be in a dark corner playing with their friends on some video game. Their goals are to be paid lots of money for existing.
They voted in our current president and he is hard at work to help fill their dreams.

My advice would be hire someone who is 50+ yrs old and pay them well. Give them a simple IQ test and ask them about any attempts at success through employers or on their own. Even if they failed they have initiative.
 
obullfish said:
Tell the boss to have some random shapes of material and a tape measure included in the interview process. Make it the first step in the interview and if they can measure correctly then proceed with the interview and if not the interview is over.
Click to expand...
What we wanted to start doing with the welding applicants is before we give them their welding test is hand them a tape measure and have them meet one of us over at the band saw. We'd do a quick rundown on it's operation and say, "alright, see those sticks of 3x3x.25 laying over there? Put them on the band saw table, and cut them to within a 1/16" of the measurements on this cut list. If you get 80% of the cuts right, we'll watch you weld it together and consider that your test".
Obviously the failure rate would be way too high, which is why we spend their first week here babysitting them. It's quite exhausting.
 
XJsavage said:
What we wanted to start doing with the welding applicants is before we give them their welding test is hand them a tape measure and have them meet one of us over at the band saw. We'd do a quick rundown on it's operation and say, "alright, see those sticks of 3x3x.25 laying over there? Put them on the band saw table, and cut them to within a 1/16" of the measurements on this cut list. If you get 80% of the cuts right, we'll watch you weld it together and consider that your test".
Obviously the failure rate would be way too high, which is why we spend their first week here babysitting them. It's quite exhausting.
Click to expand...
But then the liability for "candidates" that manage to saw off a finger before the first stick is cut/tacked/welded...
 
Caver Dave said:
But then the liability for "candidates" that manage to saw off a finger before the first stick is cut/tacked/welded...
Click to expand...
Precisely. About all we can do is really just take their word for it and hope for the best.
 
obullfish said:
Tell the boss to have some random shapes of material and a tape measure included in the interview process. Make it the first step in the interview and if they can measure correctly then proceed with the interview and if not the interview is over.
Click to expand...
i interviewed for a project management position last year, they handed me a set of drawings and asked what size block was needed.... i was the only person they interviewed that could tell them that...
 
Back
Top